Speaker
by EmbraceMadness
Summary: Ash is born with the ability to speak fluently with Pokemon. This creates many doors for him... but many threats and problems as well. Starts from Ash as a child. Strong!Ash Sensible!Ash Resourceful!Ash AuraUsing!Ash DawnxAsh PearlShipping
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Pokémon, only the OC's that I make up. **

**Prologue**

An explosion sounded in the forest, scattering strange birds, sending creatures scattering. These creatures, called Pokémon, are rapidly captured by a group of poachers, each throwing a net of sorts over them, a dragon creature next to them. One Pokémon, a large steel-bird, tries to struggle, slashing a net to shreds.

"Salamance! Use flamethrower!" a man shouts, and the blue and red dragon next to him blows out an enormous column of fire, which hits the bird. The bird caws its name in vain, and then falls to the ground, smoking. Another net is shot out, before the group moves on. Nearby, yellow eyes look out of the bush, before disappearing.

A breeze sweeps through as nearly a kilometer away, a rocky cave with a blocked entrance is opened, the enormous boulder being simply shoved to the side. Inside, there is evidence of life, a strange sort of mat on the ground, more chambers leading to other areas, and things that just make the room feel lively. A short little Pokémon with blue fur regards the intruder.

The little Pokémon has blue fur, and an all-around jackal-like appearance, standing on two legs. It's paws have no fingers, and its ears are perked a bit as it listens for any intruder. It's eyes are wrapped in a sort of black ninja mask, and it opens its mouth to speak.

_"Memma? Is that you?"_ it asks uneasily. It shifts into a fighting stance as a person enters, a cloak being thrown off, revealing a Pokémon looking similar to the smaller one, only large, with small changes, such as the uniform. Rather than wearing nothing, the larger creature has guards everywhere, a large patch of black fur on it.

_"Yes, it's me. How are you, little one?"_ the mother asks kindly, walking over and petting the child on the head.

"_I-I'm fine, Memma. How is it outside? Are the hunters coming? Do we have to move?"_ the little Pokémon asked, bewildered.

"_Now now, you needn't worry about them. How have your studies been going? Well, I hope?"_ the larger Pokémon asked. The younger one lowered its head, and the larger one sighed. _"You know, many other Riolu are far more powerful than you are by now. How do you expect to become strong enough to be a Lucario, like me?"_ she asked, directing a paw at herself. The Riolu slouched, saddened, but the Lucario hugged him. _"It's okay, just keep practicing! Now then, do you know where your father is? I have to speak with him about something."_

_"I think I saw him in your room. He still looks a bit upset…"_ the Riolu said, turning. He looked a bit nervous. The Lucario looked at him and concentrated for a moment, focusing her Aura. She located his and noticed that he felt sadness and despair, and a general gloomy Aura came off of him. She hugged him again, making sure he was fine.

_"Are you okay, son?"_ she asked softly. The Riolu nodded, as was expected, but she knew how to make him cheer up since he didn't seem to want to divulge his source of sadness.

_"Yes, Memma. Why don't you go talk to Papa now…?" _he said gloomily. The Lucario frowned, and instantly began to tickle him.

_"Hahaha…! St-stop it Memma!"_ he gasped, rolling as he was tickled. She smiled. That was always an easy way to make him better.

_"I'm going to go see your father now, okay? Cheer up! I'll help you learn something new later!"_ she exclaimed, and her son beamed back, resting her uneasy mind. His Aura was still a bit traced through with depression, but otherwise, he was fine now. She walked through the halls towards her room, where her husband, and Blaziken, would be.

She walked into her room to see her husband trying to meditate, sitting on the ground. A dozen candles were lit around him (probably from his own miniature Flamethrower technique, an ember) and his eyes were closed. Blaziken was a large, bird resembling creature due to its white 'hair' and beak, the rest of its body structure humanoid. It was red from the legs down, and a small red tail perked up. Lucario was just to say something when she heard an explosion, and a small cry that she easily recognized. Her husband's eyes shot open along with her own, as the two seemingly disappeared and reappeared next to the boulder, both combat ready. Behind them, their son was on the ground, shocked.

The boulder was cracked down the center, splinters traveling up and down as he heard the human's command. They had told the Pokémon to use a Hyper Beam, meaning that she had a moment before they got in. Quickly assessing the situation, she realized what she had to do. Turning to the son, she began to speak.

_"Son, it's time. When I was on my last trip, I traveled really far, you remember?"_ she asked him. The Pokémon nodded slowly, still shocked_. "I traveled far because there is a boy, a human boy that can understand our language. There are an infinite number of possible reasons for this, but whether or not it was important, I disregarded, and I sought him out simply for the sake of it. He lives far away, in a region called Kanto, however, which is over the sea, and so I never met him."_

_"A-a human that can understand us…!?"_ the surprised Pokémon asked. His mother nodded in affirmation.

_"Go and seek him out. Explain what happened to us,"_ she told him, and the child's eyes widened.

_"Now go! Don't worry about us,"_ the Lucario commanded, and the child protested for a moment.

_"Husband, take him. I will hold them off for now,"_ the Lucario mother said to her husband, who nodded solemnly. The two kissed each other good bye, and the Blaziken knocked out the little Riolu, tossing him over his back, beginning to run towards their back entrance. The Lucario sighed as she watched her husband and son leave, before turning her attention to the boulder, which was slowly cracking apart. If she was going out, she was going _her_ way, not sold to some human.

_"Aura sphere,"_ she said calmly, as she gathered her aura into her palms. Outside, a hunter with his Salamance was irritably waiting for his Pokémon to charge up a hyper beam again, when the boulder suddenly burst into a million pieces, instantly crushing him. The loud noise alerted the others as the Lucario fled, not even bothering to check if her fellow Pokémon, Salamance, was okay. The Salamance, crushed under a ton of rock and having a natural weakness towards the element, died instantly as well.

Meanwhile, the Blaziken had just gotten out the back entrance when he heard the loud explosion. With a heavy heart, he fled as quickly as he could, noticing that the meadows and sky were completely clear of their neighbors, from the Swellow's to the occasional Ralts family to even their own neighbors, Medicham and Hariyama.

As his attention was divided, he didn't notice a Pokémon sneaking up on him 'til he was on the ground, nearly crushed by a Mighteyena. It barred it's fangs at him, intimidating him, before his foot caught flame, and he kicked the Pokémon solidly in the stomach, making it whine in pain from the Blaze Kick, and run off, yelping. The Blaziken breathed heavily as he picked his son up again and began to run. Ahead was a river, and after that, a canyon. While he would like to avoid water at all costs, it would probably eliminate his scent.

He was almost to the river when a line of highly pressurized water cut him off, making him skid in his tracks. He turned and winced as he realized who he would be facing. In front of him stood a large Pokémon that stood on two legs and had a large circle on the majority of its body, swirls decorating its main part. Its eyes peered from top, and it was in a fighting stance. Just his luck, a Poliwhirl, from the Kanto region. A man stood next to the Poliwhirl, and he looked largely amused at the Blaziken's attempt at running away. The Blaziken knew he couldn't possibly stand up to the Poliwhirl, especially next to the river. He wouldn't stand a chance against a water type, especially since he was still a bit tired from training.

"Poliwhirl. Water gun," the man said calmly, and the Poliwhirl shouted_, "Take this, flame-boy!"_

The Blaziken didn't stand a chance, and he was blasted full in the face, falling to his knees. He was about to give up when he realized he was still holding his child in his hands. He couldn't allow the child to die with him, or worse, get captured. He prodded him with his claw slowly. The Riolu woke up slowly, yawning and rubbing his temple.

_"What hit me…"_ he asked slowly.

_"Son. I need you to go and run,"_ the Blaziken told his son, who was still half-asleep.

_"Are we playing a game again, dad? You know, that game of what happens if the hunters come?"_ he asked slowly. The Blaziken chuckled at the irony.

_"Yes, yes we are. And do you want to know where to meet us? There is a boy in the Kanto region, do you remember Kanto?" _

_"Oh yeah, Kanto. That boy that can understand us perfectly, what about it?" the Riolu asked._

_ "That is where we'll be meeting up, okay? Now go, you don't want your mother to beat us there, do you?" _

_"No! Memma won't win this time!"_ the Riolu shouted, before running off shakily. He was still half-awake, after all, and he ran right over the bridge of the river. The Blaziken sighed, a lone tear coming out of his eye, trailing down his beak. He looked at his child one last time before facing the Poliwhirl in anger.

"_Move aside, Fire-type. You stand no chance," _the Poliwhirl said confidentially. The Blaziken growled, his feet catching fire as he shifted into a fighting stance. The Poliwhirl shifted as well, and the trainer watched the Riolu run off.

_"Hurry Poliwhirl, take him out! That Riolu will fetch me hundreds in the market!"_ the hunter cried out, and the Poliwhirl snorted at the Blaziken.

"_You heard him. Get out of our way, or you go down, right here, right now,"_ he said confidentially. The Blaziken growled, glowing red as his ability, Blaze, activated.

_"You shall not pass,"_ he said, getting ready to fight. The Poliwhirl sighed.

_"Very well."_

**Ep. 1: In the town of Pallet**

Near the coast, a single city stands. This city has no gym leader, and is directly next to route 1. One could even call it a starting town, had the ocean not led to the location of the seventh gym.

To others, however, it was better known as the town in which Oak's lab. Oak, and old professor, researched Pokémon and was willing to give out rare starters every year to the inhabitants of the small town, or more specifically, those that reached ten years old. Many young boys in the city dream about becoming old enough, and choosing a starter Pokémon from Oak.

Among the Pokémon available are Charmander, the fire lizard Pokémon, Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokémon, and Bulbasaur, the seed Pokémon. The three Pokémon are fire, water and grass types respectfully, and Oak got his shipped from a distant reserve, as the starter Pokémon were easier to train and worth more. Each region had a professor, and each region practiced this.

Thus, the little town of Pallet was well-known, despite its lack of a gym.

What was interesting about the town, however, was not the location or the professor. No, the real interest was a closely guarded secret by Oak and members of the Elite Four themselves. A boy that could speak to Pokémon.

The ability to speak to Pokémon was rare in the world. In the Kanto region, where Pallet resides, there was only one other person that could do so, Lance the dragon master. He was renowned for this ability and all dragons seemed to revere him. The ability of speech with Pokemon could of course be duplicated, but nothing was as good as real speech.

The name of the boy that could speak to Pokémon was none other than a young orphan, Ash Ketchum. He was five, and had just ran away from home.

A young Ash Ketchum was sobbing as he walked out of his house, out of life. His young, child's mind could barely understand what had just transpired; a man had been angry at his mother, and so he had struck her. He could do nothing but watch, and to his own horror, run away in fright.

He didn't stop his running for quite a long while. Only when it began to get dark did Ash realize how far he had gone.

"W-waah!" he cried aloud, realizing he had no idea where to go to get back home. He tried to take a decision, but was scared that he would just get lost further, and so sat up against a tree, hugging his knees.

_"Hello there?"_ a small, feminine voice said. Ash turned his head left to right, looking for his savior, but didn't see anything but a small cream-colored bird. He ignored it, looking around more.

_"Hey, can't you see me?"_ the little voice said again, and Ash gulped.

"N-no…" he said, still looking.

"_Well then look down, human,"_ the voice said, and Ash did so, looking down right at the bird that was still staring intently. It's beak opened.

_"Finally. Are you okay, hatchling?"_ the bird asked.

"A…A… AHHH!" Ash screamed, surprised the little bird was talking. With a rather comical gesture, he tried to run by turning around but ran into the tree instead, landing hard on his back.

"O-ow…" he said, flinching at the scar on his leg from a spare branch. He turns back around towards the small bird, and gulps in fear.

"D-don't hurt me!" he says, pleadingly, throwing his hands up in defense. The bird chuckles.

It is a brown color, with a lighter colored throat and belly. The tips of its wings share this cream color. Both its feet and beak are a pinkish-gray color. Its plumage is nondescript. It had black markings around its eyes and a small crest of brown and cream feathers above its eyes. A Pidgey.

_"I'm not going to hurt you. Although I must ask, what are you doing alone in route 1? I see you have no Pokémon with you,"_ the Pidgey said, cocking its head sideways.

"A-actually, I got lost…" Ash replied, a bit ashamed.

_"Ah, that would explain it. Perhaps I can lead you home? Where is your home?"_ the Pidgey asked, and Ash thought for a moment.

"Pallet town," he said, and Pidgey gasped.

_"That's quite a distance away…"_ she began, but, seeing the look on his face, thought of something else to do. _"Perhaps my Memma and Papa could give us a ride over?"_

"Memma? Papa?" Ash asked, confused.

"_My Memma is a Pidgeot. My Papa, a Golbat. That's a type of Pokémon,"_ the Pidgey added as an after-thought.

"O-okay…" Ash said hesitantly. He was about to get up when the Pidgey stopped him.

_"Hold on a second. It's dark out, unless you want little Zubat's attacking us as we go, I suggest we stop here until light,"_ she said to him, and he flushed, nodding.

"What's your name?" Ash asked, and the Pidgey blinked, before smiling a bit.

_"My name is Tadewi. At your service,"_ Tadewi said, giving a little salute and bow with her wings.

"A-ah, my name's Ash Ketchum…" he said, and Tadewi raised an eyebrow in thought, before his name came to her mind again.

_"W-wait, you're that boy that can speak with Pokémon, right!?"_ she exclaimed, and Ash sweat-dropped.

"Um, that's how I can talk to you, yes…"

_"But why didn't you know I was a Pidgey? Or that you're in Route 1? Or that the way to Pallet is over there?"_ Tadewi said, raising a wing at the opposite direction from where Ash was going.

"I didn't see anybody while I was running," Ash said, and Tadewi narrowed her eyes.

_"That's impossible. The way over here should be full of Rattata and other Pidgey like myself. We're almost to that annoying other gym city, also, so there should be other trainers. The fact that you haven't seen anyone at all…"_ Tadewi trailed on. She made a strange gesture similar to shaking one's head. _"It doesn't matter. Well, I guess you'll be sleeping here tonight then."_

"Ah…" Ash said, hesitant as he looked around.

_"Don't worry, just lean against the tree and sleep. I'll keep watch,"_ Tadewi offered, and Ash smiled.

"Thanks, Tadewi…" he closed his eyes and nearly fell asleep right away, being so tired from running. Meanwhile, the nearby Pidgey was keeping watch from next to Ash, using her keen eyesight and hearing to make sure nothing snuck up on the two.

Ash slept until daylight, and when he couldn't wake up, Tadewi used her beak to Peck him in the arm, nearly drawing blood. He yelped as he woke up, his arm stinging. Tadewi sent him a sheepish smile.

_"You wouldn't wake up…"_ she said, and he shook his head.

"It's fine. Thanks for watching out for me, Tadewi…" he said, and Tadewi felt a strong heat in her little chest at the boy thanking her, a mere Pidgey.

"_No problem. We should probably go and see my parents now, they're both really strong," _Tadewi said, and Ash nodded. He rose to his feet unsteadily, and Tadewi began to walk unsteadily on her own two talons, feeling awkward at not being able walk normally. Ash noticed this, and kneeled.

"Hey, if you want to, you can ride my shoulder…" he said slowly and hesitantly. Tadewi instantly flushed, ducking her head.

_"I-I would be honored. In our society as bird types, it's seen as an honor to perch on a humans shoulder, but my talons would rip through your skin too quickly,"_ Tadewi shook her head. Ash nodded solemnly.

"Is… is it okay if I just pick you up then? I don't want to waste too much time," he asked. Tadewi nodded.

_"Watch the feathers, please,"_ she requested, as Ash delicately held her in his hands. _"Let's go, that way!" _

The two traveled for a while, before Tadewi pointed out a cave, near the end of a forest area. _"In there,"_ she stated, and Ash slowly went in, as he let go of Tadewi, who quickly called her parents.

_"Memma! Papa! I'm back!"_ she called. Soon, two flying beings appeared. The first looked strikingly similar to Tadewi, but much larger, with glossier plumage, the red and yellow feathers on its crest as long as its body. Its fan-like tail feathers are red. Like Tadewi, most of its body was brown, its underside was cream-colored, its beak and legs were pink, and it had black markings around its eyes.

The second was a blue bat-like Pokémon. It's wing membranes and ear insides were purple. It had a large mouth with four fangs, and a large red tongue. It had small eyes, and short legs with a toe on each. Large wings opened to the sides.

_"Tadewi, where have you been?"_ the bird asked, smothering the Pidgey with her right wing. Ash stood nervously, the bat-like creature creeping him out.

_"Yes, who is this human you've brought?" _the bat's eyes narrowed, "_Don't tell me you've been caught?" _Tadewi quickly shook her head.

_"No, Memma, Papa, this is Ash! He is the human that can speak our tongue, and he got lost yesterday on Route 1!"_ Tadewi said cheerfully. The Golbat and Pidgeot exchanged a look.

"Are you quite certain it's really him this time, honey?" the Pidgeot asked gently.

_"If that were the case, couldn't he understand all that we've been saying?"_ the Golbat asked with narrowed eyes at Ash. Ash gulped.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I… I just…" he said, knees trembling. The Golbat took pity on the boy.

_"Come on now, I'm not that scary, am I? How many moons have you seen, boy?"_ the Golbat asked. Ash tilted his head.

"Moons? I… I see one every day, what do you mean?" he asked. The Golbat sighed, it seemed that his hatchling really _had_ found the speaker.

_"In every Human Year, there are around 12 moons. How many years have you been alive, child?"_ the Golbat asked. Ash thought for a moment, counting on his fingers. He held up a full hand of fingers.

"This many," he said. The Pidgeot cooed.

_"Aw, he's so young! Honey, I think I should speak with him: if he's this young, I guarantee you you'll only frighten him more,"_ the Pidgeot said to her mate. The Golbat nodded, and the Pidgeot moved forward. _"Hi there, young one. My name is Ariel, mother of Tadewi. This is Venom, her father. What's your name?"_ she asked. Ash gulped.

"M-my name is Ash… I'm from Pallet town," he added helpfully.

"_Well then Ash, do you need help going back? I could give you a lift, if you want,"_ Ariel said. Ash shook his head.

"I… I don't want to be any trouble for you," he said. Venom grunted, but Ariel smacked him with a wing, and he stopped.

"_In which case, how did you get lost? Was someone chasing you?"_ Ariel asked, wanting to make sure the boy was protected. Ash shuddered.

"I… I saw Mommy get hit by a bad man, and I ran away… wait, Mommy! I, I need to go back! Mommy is hurt!" Ash panicked, remembering the man. Ariel and Venom exchanged a glance, and Tadewi looked at the two.

"_What… what does he mean?_ "She asked. She was still a hatchling, and didn't really understand the concept. Ariel began to tremble in anger. She had a rather strong case of the 'motherly instinct' to all young she met, and the human boy was no exception. Venom gently prodded her with a worried expression, but Ariel shrugged him off.

_"Honey, get on my back please. I'm going to carry you back,_ _and Tadewi and Venom are coming too."_

A while later, Ash and the three flying Pokémon were flying above Pallet town, Ash having pointed out his own home. Pidgeot, with her enhanced vision, saw through the windows of the Ketchum household blood, and saw the corpse of a dead woman on the ground. Knowing not to scar poor Ash for life, she flew away aimlessly, not knowing what to do.

"A-Ariel? Why aren't we landing?" Ash asked. Tadewi and Venom remained silent, as Ariel seethed, trying to calm herself down for the boys sake.

"_Honey, what do you think about living with us for a while?" _Ariel asked gently. Ash tilted his head again. The four were now flying over Route 1, and were nearing Viridian city. Ariel angled her wing away from it, however, and soon the two were flying back towards the spot their cave was located at in Route 1.

"I… are you sure? I want to go see Mommy…" Ash said. Ariel sighed, an internal debate raging within her.

_"Honey, your Mommy is… on vacation,"_ she said slowly. Ash tilted his head.

"What's a 'vacation'?" he asked. Ariel grimaced, tears threatening to drop from her face.

_"A… a vacation is when a person or Pokémon… goes away, for a while,"_ she said.

"So Mommy will come back one day?" he asked.

_"Yes, yes she will. Do you want to live with us in the mean time?"_ Ariel lied through her beak.

"Okay! You guys are really nice," Ariel sighed in relief as the four flew into the cave.

Far, far away, in Vermillion City, a single ship, fresh from the Sinnoh region pulled into the harbor, a single, blue and black Pokémon stowaway.

**Ep. 2 An Unexpected Visit**

Ash and Tadewi looked around as the two older Pokémon hunted for food. Though it was night, Ariel enjoyed going on the hunts with her mate, despite not being as good a hunter because of it. She also secretly hoped that Ash and Tadewi would become good friends, though it didn't require them being alone.

"So, Tadewi, what do Pokémon do?" Ash asked. Tadewi studied at him for a moment.

"_Well we just live our lives and enjoy them, really,"_ Tadewi began, before continuing with an afterthought_. "However, to humans, we battle. They capture us in these little Red Balls known as Pokeballs and we battle each other with skills that humans have named." _

"Why would you guys fight each other though? That sounds like a bad life," Ash said glumly. Tadewi laughed.

_"Well some Pokémon do it to get stronger. You're right though, it isn't that good of a life. It's funny: humans have categorized us so much that they even categorized our power by what 'level' we are, and gave us stats. It's really funny, actually."_

"What are stats?" Ash asked curiously. Tadewi stopped, trying to think of a way to explain it.

_"Well stats are just numbers, really. They gave us six stats; Health, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed."_

"What… what are those?" Ash asked, his face scrunched as he tried to think. Tadewi thought again.

_"Well Health is how close to losing we are, attack is how strong we are, defense is how strong we are to take other Pokémon's attacks, and special attack and special defense are just another form," _Tadewi explained. Ash nodded_. "Speed is just how fast we are. It's all pretty simply, actually."_

"Okay… what's a level?" Ash asked. Tadewi groaned, smacking her face with her wing.

A while later, the two heard a swoop as a Pokémon landed outside the cave.

_"That must be Memma and Papa!"_ Tadewi said, flying out with Ash in quick pursuit. Once they arrived outside, however, they instead saw a dragon at least three times taller than Ash. It had an orange body, with arm and legs that possessed three claws on each one. It had a large horn on its forehead, also colored orange. It stood on its two feet, and had a shrinking pair of green wings. It had S-shaped yellow antennae and a cream-colored, striated underbelly. A friendly expression was on its face, and a man on its back.

"Hi there!" Ash said cheerfully to the large Pokémon. The Pokémon smiled, before nodding.

_"Hello there, young one. What are you doing all the way out here?_" it asked in an amused voice.

"Ash Ketchum, do you remember me?" the man behind the dragon asked. He had spiky red hair and wore a cape.

"Aren't you Lance?" Ash asked. Lance grinned.

"Yup that's me! Why aren't you home right now, Ash?" he asked. Ash tilted his head.

"My Mommy is on vacation, so I'm here instead! Tell him, Tadewi!" he said, beckoning to the Pidgey, who was terrified. "Tadewi? Are you okay?"

_"That… that Dragonite! He is ridiculously powerful! Why is he here!?_" Tadewi asked, scared out of her mind.

_"Calm, young Pidgey. I mean no harm. We are of the Elite Four, and tasked to protect young Ash from possible threats. There are plenty of criminal organizations that want him for them, experimentation and the sort. That is why there have been no wild Pokémon close to Pallet town in recent years," _the Dragonite explained.

_"Why didn't my parents tell me then?"_ Tadewi asked.

_"My guess is that you are too young. That may be why you found Ash when no one else was there. However, you not knowing the rule may have saved his life, and for that, we thank you,"_ the Dragonite bowed. Tadewi flushed, before bowing back.

"Now then, Ash, let's go back, okay?" Lance asked. Ash shook his head.

"Nuh uh! I like it here! The Pokémon are really nice to me!" he smiled. Lance sighed, rubbing his temples. He and Ash were, in essence, one of a kind. While Ash was much better at it, Lance could also understand most Dragon type Pokémon, and so he knew that most Pokémon naturally liked those that knew their tongue. They even called them 'the Speakers', with a capitol 's'.

"Can we talk with your parents, Tadewi?" Lance asked the Pidgey. She nodded, and turned her head to the two half-flying types that were coming, landing quickly.

_"Dragonite of Lance. To what do we owe this honor?"_ Venom asked coolly. The Dragonite bowed.

_"Please, call me AuraKnight. It is my given name. We are here to bring young Ash back to his home, where it is easier to protect him from Team Rocket," _AuraKnight explained, after he, Lance and Ariel excused themselves from the two young ones.

_"Team Rocket? Aren't they that criminal organization that runs most of the crimes in Kanto? What do they want with Ash?"_ Ariel asked. AuraKnight sighed.

_"You must be new around here. Team Rocket and their leader have already shown plenty of interest in young Ash for his ability to speak the tongue. We have been protecting his household for years now, since the first sign of the Team Rockets interest."_

_"Tauros-shit! We stopped by Ash's house today, to bring him back after he ran away: Ash's Memma is dead!" _Ariel retorted. AuraKnight seemed lost for words for a moment.

_"I… apologize then. I didn't know, our patrol must've been… occupied."_

_ "Occupied? That's all you can say? If Ash had stayed there, he would be dead, or worse! He is staying with us from now on; practically nobody realizes there's a cave on route 1 housing us!" _Ariel continued.

_ "Now look here for just one moment-"_ AuraKnight began, after relaying to conversation to his trainer.

_"No you look HERE! Ash is staying with us, and while I would like support from you of the Elite Four- maybe an occasional Dragonair or Dragonite patrol, or a Jynx dropping in, or a Gengar popping up, or even a damn Hitmonchan or Hitmonlee swinging by, we can take care of him ourselves as well! So what's it going to be, huh?"_ Ariel snapped. Lance evidentially took this as a hostile action, and took out his scanner, pointing it at the two Pokémon to know what his level 62 Dragonite could do against the two. To his surprise, the meter on the machine didn't stop at level 22 for the Golbat, or level 36 for the Pidgeot. Rather, they continued traveling and traveling, before hitting a peak at a much higher level then what he suspected. Dropping the scanner in alarm, Venom turned to AuraKnight.

_"What, did your silly human think us to be mid to high level 30's?" _he sneered_, "Let me get this very, very clear to you, AuraKnight. We were former members of the only Pokémon-known Aerial flyers group, the ones that only answered to the legendary fliers. We left the group only because we wanted to retire, but let me make this as clear as possible, Elite: If you dare mess with my family, I will Brave Bird you so bad, you will never be able to use Draco Meteor again. Got that?" _Venom threatened. AuraKnight looked down at Lance, before nodding for the two of them. _"Good. Now send the first patrol on the morrow, now that we know that despicable Team Rocket is after our newest young one, we have no time to lose." _

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ash asked Tadewi. Tadewi shook her head.

_"I haven't the slightest clue. Anyways, do you want to know what moves I know, and all the stats that I have according to human judging?" _Tadewi asked. Ash shrugged. _"Since I told you about all that, I figured I might as well. I have an Adamant nature, apparently, and I'm level 10. My stats are as follows: 37 Health, 25 Attack, 22 Defense, 19 Special Attack, 21 Special Defense, and 25 Speed. Cool, right? I have the ability Keen Eye, which means I can't be blinded, and I know the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, and some other stuff."_

"Cool! What other stuff do you mean?" Ash asked, not really understanding all the numbers.

_"Well apparently a Pokémon gets all the moves their parents knew, but Memma and Papa don't really let me use those that I know… Plus, it's Memma and Papa! They don't fight," _Tadewi laughed.

"Cool… So you know how to Tackle, use Sand, and… what are those anyways?" Ash asked. Tadewi grinned.

_"Why don't I use one on you and we find out? I doubt I can cause much harm to you, only a bit of pain at best," _Tadewi said. Ash shrugged. "Okay!"

_"Get ready… I'm coming…!" _Tadewi began, clawing at the cavern ground like a Tauros about to charge. Ash stood across from her, arms spread. Soon, Tadewi ran at him in a series of rapid hops, before leaping up and smashing into him, making him tumble to the ground in a yelp.

_"Tadewi!" _the two heard, freezing from their laughter.

_"Come outside! The Dragonite is about to leave~!" _ the two quickly got up and ran out the cavern, to see Dragonite and Lance walking away.

"Bye bye Lance!" Ash called out. Lance turned around, shock on his face, before smiling, waving back as he and AuraKnight left.

_"So what did they want?" _Tadewi asked her parents.

_"Oh nothing, just checking in with Ash,"_ Ariel smiled. Venom grunted next to her, and the two young ones laughed as Venom found a wing in his face again, courtesy of his loving mate.

_"Anyways, you must be hungry, Ash! What do you think of some berries? They're really good for you!" _Ariel said.

"Th-thank you, if I could have some food… that'd be great," Ash said shyly, before his stomach growled loudly, making the three Pokémon laugh.

_"We're going to have Chesto berries today, and I'll go catch us a Magikarp. Venom, honey? Make sure Tadewi only eats the Chesto please; the Cheri berries in the area are dying out," _ Ariel said, giving a pointed look at Tadewi before flapping off. Tadewi groaned.

_"But I like Cheri berries! And I _hate_ Chesto's! They taste so… so… bland and dry!"_ she complained. Venom sighed.

_"But they make you prettier, isn't that what all hatchlings your age want?" _Venom asked sarcastically. The two sighed together at Venom's quote of Ariel, before they began hopping further into the cave. Well, Venom glided, but Tadewi hopped with Ash.

"Thank you again for letting me stay here…" he said. Venom shook his head.

_"It's fine. I think you aren't bad, and considering Ariel already practically sees you as her child, there's no arguing against it. Come. It must've been at least a day since you've last ate, yes?" _as if on cue, Ash's stomach growled yet again, making Venom chuckle.

_"Oh, and don't mind Zack and his brothers and sisters. My sister is making me watch them for a while," _Venom called as Ash and Tadewi began to fall behind, since Venom was flying. The two exchanged a look.

"Who's Zack?" Ash asked.

_"Zack is a Zubat. He's my cousin, and his parents had a LOT of eggs," _Tadewi explained. Ash nodded, and soon, a small, blue and purple bat flew up to him, landing gently on his shoulder.

_"Hi there stranger! Can I suck your blood?" _Zack asked, laughing to himself afterwards. _"Who's the random human, Tadewi?" _

_"You're an idiot. That's Ash, the young Speaker that lived in Pallet town. He'll be staying with us for a while and _no_ you can't drink his blood," _Tadewi scolded. Zack simply flew around the two, giggling and laughing.

_"You're funny, stop being so serious. Why are you always pretending humans can talk to us anyways? It's weird." _

"I can… I can hear you, you know, Zack," Ash said, turning pointedly to the Zubat, making him nearly fall out of the air.

_"Great Arceus, really!? Yay! Now I finally have someone that can listen to me and all my funny jokes about Tadewi! Hey guys! This guy is a Speaker!" _Zack called, and five smaller Zubats suddenly appeared, peeping behind Zack.

_"Can you really?"_ one of them asked. Ash nodded on cue, and they all squealed and began to fly around him, head-butting him gently at times.

_"Do you think we're creepy, Mr. Speaker?" _ Another one asked worriedly. Ash shook his head and smiled.

"You guys are actually really soft and nice. I was only scared of Venom at first because he had a really big mouth and fangs. And I'm young to, you guys! You don't have to call me mister!" he said.

_"Awww! I like him! Hey Ash, if you ever drop by our home, I promise none of us will annoy you, and we'll get the other Zubats to do the same, deal?" _Zack spoke for the group.

"Deal! I don't know where you guys live though, but sure!"

_"Oh, we live on Mt. Moon! Annoying the young trainers is soooo fun…!" _

"Mt. Moon? Trainer?" Ash asked. Tadewi sighed.

_"Mt. Moon is a place near Cerulean city, it's pretty far from here. A Trainer is someone, always human, who catches Pokémon in those little Pokeballs of theirs, and trains us and makes us battle," _Tadewi informed him.

"Oh. I like you guys though! I never wanna make you all fight!" he said in shock. Tadewi shook her head as Zack sat on his shoulder again, a little angry.

_"Hey! I_ want_ to fight though! I want to get strong and one day become a big, bad Crobat! Oh yeah, Tadewi, why hasn't uncle Venom become a Crobat yet? They're soooo cool-looking!" _Zack asked. Tadewi shook her head.

_"To evolve into a Crobat, you need to be trained by someone, there's no way to become one without a trainer. And before you ask, Evolution is when a Pokémon turns into something else, usually at a certain level. Memma is a Pidgeot. That's the last Evolution of my line. I'm first, a Pidgey. At level 18, if I choose to, I'll become a Pidgeotto. Then, when I get to level 36, I can become a Pidgeot. Zack here is of the Zubat line, where he's first. Then at level 22, he can turn into a Golbat, like Papa. After that, if he gets happy enough with a trainer, he can turn into a Crobat, which is really, really strong." _Tadewi explained.

"Oh, that… that's actually really cool! Only 8 levels to go then, right?" Ash asked. Tadewi puffed out her little chest a bit.

_"Yup! Then I'll become an elegant Pidgeotto, and after, an amazing Pidgeot, just like Memma!"_

"What does a Pidgeotto look like?" Ash asked, curious.

_"Well like me, just bigger. My line doesn't really change that much, we just get bigger and stronger."_

"Oh cool. What does a Crobat look like?"

_"They're completely purple, have weird feet things, a smaller head than Golbat, and red eyes," _Zack explained. Ash shuddered.

"That… looks a little creepy," he admitted. Zack rolled his nonexistent eyes.

_"They're really strong though. Watch out any fighting, grass or bug types! Hey, let's go eat now! I'm getting a bit hungry…" _he explained. Ash nodded, and together, the human plus many finally reached the main part of the cavern, where Venom calmly napped on the ceiling. There were multiple shelves dug out in the stone, and in one of them, hard blue and brown berries lay. Ash began to reach for one of them, but Tadewi flew a bit higher to where the Cheri berries were, a sort of small red berry still attached to multiple bits of vine. She began to bite one, but a sudden voice stopped her.

_"Tadewi. Eat the Chesto berries,"_ Venom called out, making her grumble before grabbing a Chesto berry in her talon, flying down to start to pick at it. Ash grabbed only one as well, after seeing Tadewi and the others do so. While the other flyers all struggled to finish the large berry, Ash simply took two bites and found him finished.

"That was… good," Ash commented. The others all turned to look at him seemingly just realizing that he had eaten the entire berry already.

_"This… might be a problem,"_ Venom commented from above.

**Ep. 3** **Touring Route 1**

Ash smacked his lips as he stared at the Magikarp slowly being turned on the fire. With some help from Venom, he had managed to begin cooking the Magikarp, since his body wasn't used to eating raw meat. He licked his lips again as he took the stick above the spit off, holding the Magikarp on the stick. He slowly peeled off the hard scales of the Magikarp, exposing the meat underneath. While there wasn't much, it was plenty for a young boy.

He then grabbed the water bottle Ariel had gotten as provisions from Lance and Dragonite.

"This is really good!" he proclaimed after a few bites.

_"Thank you! It wasn't too hard to find it, the dumb Magikarp are always just floundering around near where the Tangela live near Pallet Town. The intelligent one's stay in rivers, so you don't have to feel bad about eating it," _Ariel said, already guessing what Ash might be thinking. Ash nodded happily, and noticed Tadewi, Zack, and all of his little siblings staring.

"What?" he asked, confused. "Do I have something on my face?"

_"So… good-smelling…" Zack drooled._

"_Smells so yummy…" _Tadewi echoed, drool hanging down out of her beak.

"H-hey if you guys want some, feel free!" Ash said, moving the stick towards them. In a matter of seconds, the Magikarp was completely stripped, and all he was left with was a pile of bones and a stick between them. "Uh…"

_"Children! You already had your berries! Now poor Ashie here has no meat! He needs to eat more than you all!" _Ariel scolded. The children shrunk back and apologized, looking at their feet.

"It's-it's alright, Mrs. Ariel," Ash said. Ariel shook her head.

_"Don't call me that, please. Just call me Memma!" _she trilled cheerfully. Venom face-winged next to her, though she was too in-the-moment to really notice.

"Th-thank you M-Memma!" Ash said happily, understanding what it meant. Ariel wiped a tear before ushering the small ones towards the exit of the cave.

_"Now then, we're going to go out and play! I spoke with Lance and his Dragonite earlier while I was out getting that Magikarp and your human food, he's going to be dropping off little hatchlings from the Elite Four Pokémon here! Now it's really going to be a nice, pleasant day-care…" _Ariel said, as if she were day-dreaming.

_"Ugh,"_ Venom muttered next to her, smacking his face again.

_"Anyways, Lance said that they would be dropping off the little one's soon, so let's go out and explore! Their parents will be here as well, so everyone be nice!"_ she finished, before the Pokémon (plus Ash) all finally got out of the cave.

"Wow, there are so many!" Ash said, looking across the clearing. It was true, whereas before Route 1 had been near deserted of Pokémon, there were now tons roaming, from Pidgey's to Rattata's, a small, purple-backed marsupial with a long tail, red eyes, whiskers, a white underbelly, and ridiculously powerful teeth. Occasionally, in the large trees on the sides, Ash saw little bug Pokémon, though they seemed to be rather docile and shy.

_"Hey guys!" _Ash saw Tadewi fly over to a group of Pidgey conversing, as they walked around.

_"Hi there. Are you new around here, or were you here before the area got shut down?" _the Pidgey asked in an adult voice.

_"Uh… I haven't gone out that often, so I don't really know. Why'd they shut it down?" _Tadewi asked. The Pidgey snorted.

_"Some punk kid apparently managed to get the Elite Four to believe he could understand us. Can you imagine? Idiots," _the Pidgey continued, spitting. Tadewi had heard about enough.

"H-hi, I can understand you pretty well. I'm sorry you guys were kept in your homes," Ash apologized. Tadewi hadn't noticed him sneak up on them.

_"Human! Oh wait, he doesn't have a Pokémon, and he looks pretty young. Clear," _the Pidgey said, ruffling his feathers.

"Oh, sorry. I'm not a trainer, I can understand you though," Ash offered. The Pidgey snorted.

_"Tauros-shit," _he said. Ash tilted his head to Tadewi.

"Tadewi, what does that mean?" he asked innocently. Tadewi, on the other hand, was annoyed.

_"Look here, you. This Trainer really is a Speaker! Lance and his Dragonite themselves dropped by not long ago and spoke with my parents!" _Tadewi asserted. The Pidgey snorted again.

_"My ruffled feathers they did. Do you think you're at home with your nest-mates? This is a _real_ Route, Pidgey. And the name's Falcon, strongest Pidgey around here," _Falcon claimed boldly. Tadewi smiled grimly.

_"Oh? And what level are you, 2?" _she snapped back.

"Tadewi, you don't need to get mad," Ash said nervously. Tadewi snapped at him too.

_"If you won't defend yourself, I will! I, Tadewi, challenge you, Falcon, to a flight duel!" _she trilled. By this time, Venom and Ariel had come over, confused about all the noise. Zack and his siblings came as well.

_"What's all this about?" _Venom asked protectively.

_"He's making fun of Ash! And he cursed!" _Tadewi said. Falcon glared.

_"What word?" _Ariel asked.

_"The TS one! Ash doesn't even know that one yet!" _she retorted. Ash scratched his head sheepishly as the Pokémon all argued.

_"You little-insignificant… punk!" _Ariel came upon Falcon, who was steadily backing up.

_"Memma, please, let me take care of this runt! I already challenged him to a flight duel, after all!" _Tadewi said proudly.

_"Are you crazy? Falcon's the best in the area! He's the top flier!" _a female Pidgey spoke up, the other's agreeing with her.

_"Not anymore. Greetings everyone, my name is Tadewi, and as of today, I'm your new 'top flier'!" _Tadewi said.

_"Silly girl… bring it on then! I bet you've never even battled, have you?" _Falcon asked. Tadewi growled, and Falcon growled back, the two moving closer and about to butt heads before Venom put his wing down.

_"Enough. This'll be a one on one battle. No seconds. First to forfeit loses. Begin!" _

_"This'll be easy! I bet you have an attack of like, 1!" _Falcon began running towards Tadewi, before stopping, sending sand up at her. _"Take this! Sand Attack!" _ Tadewi simply flew up out of the sand's reach however, before countering.

_"Tackle!"_ she trilled, slamming into Falcon, sending him flying back far. He landed on his back, getting up slowly and gently.

_"Ow…"_ he muttered. He barely got up, and was shaky on his claws as was.

_"What… what level are you…!?" _he said slowly, still a little winded.

_"I'm level 10! And my attack stat is 25, by the way!" _Tadewi boasted, before finishing the battle.

Not too far away, in Viridian city, a single small, heartbroken Riolu walked out, now entering route 1.

_"Not too far now," _he muttered to himself, shifting uneasily as he tried to be as unnoticeable as possible.

At the same time, a well-known couple in the Contest circuit were camping with their five year old daughter. They were waking up from their nice rest when the mother let out a shrill shriek.

"My _baby_! Where'd she go!?"

** Alright so what'd you all think? I'm hoping this will be received quite well but hey, it might, it might not. The future chapters may or may not be longer, it depends on how much I can complete. As a note, this story may not be updated for a while, as I'll try and focus on my main story right now, Secluded Dragons. **

** Shout out to DarkFoxKit in apology of copying her format, slightly, with multiple Episodes, or chapters, per actual chapter, I found it easier to do it like this, but I may or may not change it, depending on reviews. Oh, and shout out to her for the idea of a parent Pokémon being called a 'Memma', though I'm not sure if that's hers originally. Oh, and props to who can guess who the girl is.**

**MG TLE**

**DBJ JY**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Pokémon. I do enjoy it though.**

_**Previously**__: "_I'm level 10! And my attack stat is 25, by the way!"_ Tadewi boasted, before finishing the battle._

* * *

_Not too far away, in Viridian city, a single small, heartbroken Riolu walked out, now entering route 1._

_ "Not too far now," he muttered to himself, shifting uneasily as he tried to be as unnoticeable as possible._

_ At the same time, a well-known couple in the Contest circuit were camping with their five year old daughter. They were waking up from their nice rest when the mother let out a shrill shriek._

**Ep. 4 Conversation of the Four (Several days after Chapter 1)**

"So let me get this straight," an elderly woman began skeptically. She wore an old-styled sort of blouse/dress, and had graying blond hair. She was standing by help of a wooden stick. "You're telling me that Ash Ketchum is no longer in Pallet town due to an attempt to kidnap him by Team Rocket, but luckily he managed to run away, where he was found by a family of flying types? Flying types that somehow managed to convince you to let him stay with them?"

"It's… not that simple," Lance shook his head, "Agatha, we made a mistake in the past. We were too lenient. Pallet town was barely ever watched over, only with occasional patrols. We were lucky this family found him, and besides," he winced, "they could likely hold out in a fight even better than AuraKnight."

"Better than AuraKnight? Are you quite certain, Lance?" a shirtless, huge and muscular man asked quietly. Lance nodded.

"I had the level calculating machine with me, and when it looked like a fight was going to break out, I pointed it at them. Their levels are… simply unbelievable," Lance said, telling them the number.

"They're a threat then! We need to take them out ASAP if they are so strong!" another woman declared, her long red hair falling as she shook her head, her glasses threatening to fall off before she pushed them back up.

"Lorelei, Bruno, neither of you have ever fought that high of a level before… both Agatha and I have. Believe me when I say that those two alone would be enough to take on all of us. Besides, they've shown a willingness to protect young Ash, and that's all that matters, right?" he asked, looking around and locking eyes with all of the members.

"I… suppose they cannot be that bad anyways. Though I would still like to meet these Pokémon. What species are they anyways?" Agatha asked, curious.

"A Pidgeot and a Golbat. Apparently they were once a part of an all-flying squad of wild Pokémon, the best of the best, from what AuraKnight has explained to me so far. The group they are a part of is known as Talon-Strike, and they were the top of all squadrons."

"Wait, what's a squadron?" Lorelei asked.

"It's something new that I've learned from AuraKnight. He doesn't talk to many Wild Pokémon anymore, but recently he did talk to a giant Dragonite near Bill's lighthouse. Apparently, a few years back, actually around the time in which we were first together, and we still had a champion, battling squadrons began to form. They started simply, a trend in the Sinnoh region, by a Fighting/Steel type named Lucario. Lucario is a very special being that can harness Aura, but that's beside the point. Basically, he created a group that was dedicated to helping wild Pokémon with any issues they had in life, as well as put down any mutiny or something similar, which is why we don't have the intelligent Pokémon all attacking our cities relentlessly. They're a bit like the Police, actually, and there is at least one squadron for every type, though the major one's are spread throughout the continents. They also keep the mindless Pokémon under control, the one's that aren't sentient, that is," Lance explained. The group pondered for a while.

"I believe we should make contact with these groups, perhaps coordinate our efforts," Bruno spoke up. Lance nodded.

"That was my plan of action for later. It doesn't have to be immediate though, we have time to spare. In other news though, I may have told Ariel we would be using her area as a day-care for her, so Ash would be safer so uh… anybody got any baby Pokémon?" Lance asked. The members of the Elite Four looked at each other, before shrugging.

"A while ago, my two Gengar mated. I have a baby Gastly now, though I'm already keeping him at the daycare on the Sevii Islands. I suppose I could get a teleport over and get them," Agatha said.

"My Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee have mated again. The child is actually with them right now, in my home," Bruno explained.

"I actually haven't got any baby Pokémon right now. I mean, I have a baby Lapras, but I'm not going to take him out of my home on Sevii. I suppose that leaves you guys."

"I have a Dratini," Lance said helpfully.

"So that's the plan then? We go and get our little ones and drop them off at these wild Pokémon's place? Forgive me if I don't think my own Pokémon will like that," Agatha said sarcastically. Lance shook his head.

"No, of course not. We'll let Ash talk with our Pokémon, and maybe our own will be willing to stay there, after meeting the two."

"What if we have challengers?" Bruno asked.

"Well I won't be dropping off any Pokémon anyways, and it's been ages since anybodies gotten past me, so I suppose it's fine, right?" Lorelei asked. Agatha nodded.

"In any case, we'll all go to meet them as soon as we can. Lorelei, you're with me, Bruno and Agatha, go collect them. We'll be flying above Route 1; it shouldn't be too hard to find us. Let's go now, unless anybody has anything else to say?"

* * *

**Ep. 5 Meeting the Neighbors and opening a daycare**

_"Wow so you're really the Speaker?" _a Rattata asked Ash. Ash smiled nervously, before nodding.

"Y-yeah, I guess. I just understand you guys well. It's nothing," he said honestly.

_"No, it's really cool! Oh how I wish all humans were like you…" _the Rattata shook its head.

"What's your name?" Ash asked, curious. The Rattata ducked it's head nervously.

_"My name is TimidFang, pleased to meet you! What's your given name?" _TimidFang asked.

"My name is Ash Ketchum. How is it being a Pokémon?" he asked curiously. TimidFang tilted his head.

_"It's… interesting, I guess. It's a bit scary sometimes, but other than that, everything's fine," _he said.

"Oh cool uh… what's that?" Ash asked, pointing at a green little bug nearby.

_"Oh that's a Caterpie. The ones around here are the feral ones; the actually intelligent ones live near the Viridian Forest. Pidgey around here eat them," _TimidFang explained.

"Oh…! Hey, do you think you could tell me about that? The whole, intelligent-not intelligent thing?" Ash asked.

_"Sure. There are intelligent and feral Pokémon in the world. The feral ones are the ones that are generally able to keep out of trainers' ways, that's why hardly any humans know about them," _TimidFang explained.

"So… you eat them?" Ash asked, seeing a Pidgey swoop in and eat the Caterpie he had been staring at.

_"Pretty much. It is a Pokémon eat Pokémon world out here, after all, but eating another intelligent isn't viewed well. Eating feral's is perfectly fine, but not intelligent's." _

"Oh, okay! Thanks!" Ash said, before seeing Tadewi conversing with some of her fellow Pidgey. He walked over to them to talk to Tadewi.

_"So you really are a level 10 then!" _was the first thing he heard.

_"Y-yeah, I guess I'm a bit strong for this area then, huh…?" _Tadewi said sheepishly. Her fellow Pidgey didn't get angry though.

_"It's fine, it's fine! Honestly, it's interesting having someone so powerful here! Of course, your parents must be leagues ahead of us as well, but that's all fine. H-hey, what's that?" _the Pidgey asked, pointing a wing at the sky. A large shadow had appeared, and was slowly circling the small clearing. Pokémon after Pokémon began to disappear, whether into the trees or into the bushes and soon, there were none left except Venom, Ariel, Tadewi, Ash and Zack and his siblings, all of which were perched on Ash now.

A large wind blew as a large Dragonite landed at last, with two serpent-like Pokémon on either side of it, each having blue skin, a horn, marble at their neck, and miniature wings on their heads. On the Dragonite was Lance.

"Hi AuraKnight!" Ash called. Lance hopped off of AuraKnight, the three Pokémon trailing him. He then lent a hand to allow Lorelei off, who brushed herself off before staring at the gathered with a critical eye.

"Hello Ash, I'd like you to meet Lorelei, she's another member of the Elite Four," Lance began, smiling, hoping Lorelei wouldn't do anything stupid.

"You two!" Crap. "I want to challenge you!" Lorelei called, pointing at Ariel and Venom.

_"Ash, honey, tell her we don't really battle anymore, and we never have," _Ariel told Ash gently. Ash repeated what Ariel said, but Lorelei shook her head.

"Tauros shit. I know you guys are strong, otherwise, Lance wouldn't have told us you two are level mmph-!" Lorelei cried, after Lance put a hand around her mouth.

"Please excuse her, I think she isn't well, the heat must be getting to her," Lance smiled, before turning around with her, getting behind his dragons. "What are you thinking, Lorelei! We want them on _our_ side, not against us! Don't doubt their strength for even a minute!" Lance whispered.

"And why not? What if your level calculator was wrong, huh?" Lorelei whispered back furiously.

"…I'd much rather risk them actually not being that high of a level than invoke their wrath. Lorelei… go home," Lance said, shaking his head. Lorelei glared, before nodding, taking out her flyer and leaving.

"I'm sorry about that. As I said, Lorelei can't really take the heat, since she's actually an ice type trainer, so on her behalf, I apologize," Lance said, bowing. Ariel shook her head, and Lance needed no translation to know that he had been forgiven.

"In any case, I've brought with me these two siblings that'll be staying here, if you don't mind," Lance said.

_"I don't mind at all," _Ash translated for Ariel. Lance smiled, before nodding.

"Thank you. As AuraKnight is named AuraKnight, these two Dragonair are named AuraSentinel and AuraSlice, they are brothers and AuraKnight's young students. My last Dragonite, my female one, her name is AuraQueen and she is currently at our home, but she and AuraKnight have agreed to leave their child here, a baby Dratini we have yet to name. Perhaps you would like to, Ash?" Lance asked, opening a Pokéball. Out sprang a serpentine Pokémon much smaller than the two Dragonairs, yet still much larger than Ash himself. The Dratini moved towards Ash uncertainly, but eventually curled around his legs.

"I think he likes you," Lance said, making everyone smile.

"Hi there," Ash said. The little Dratini was too nervous to respond, and instead just stayed there, still wrapped around Ash. Turning to the two Dragonair that were staring at him, he smiled and waved at them also.

"Hi AuraSentinel! Hi AuraSlice!" he said cheerfully. The two Dragonair looked at each other before speaking.

_"I'm AuraSlice," _one said gruffly.

_"And I'm AuraSentinel," _the other said in the identical voice. Ash blinked, before smiling.

"Hi AuraSlice, hi AuraSentinel!" he said again, this time pointing to the correct ones. They both nodded to him, before returning to AuraKnight's side in the same slithery way. Ash then turned his attention to the Dratini that was curled around him.

"Amazing, I've never seen a Dratini warm up to someone so quickly," Lance commented. _"Except for AuraKnight, when he met me,"_ he thought.

"Aw… you're so cute," Ash gushed, petting the Dratini. It cooed into his touch and seemed extremely at peace. Lance watched closely as a small, nearly invisible light glowed from Ash's hand, and the Dratini calmed even further.

_"H-hi…" _the Dratini said shyly. Ash smiled at it.

"Hi there. What do you want your name to be?" Ash asked. It stared at him. Dragon was larger than boy.

_"I… anything is fine…"_ the Dratini said, curling. Ash hummed thoughtfully.

"Oh I know! Lance, you call your Dragons with 'aura', right?" Ash asked. Lance nodded.

"What does Knight, Sentinel, and Slice mean?" Ash asked again.

"A Knight is someone that is noble and helps the best they can. A sentinel is someone who watches for trouble. And AuraSlice is called with a Slice because he really likes attacking, slice is cutting something," Lance tried to explain. Ash nodded slowly.

"Okay then um… what does it mean to protect someone?" he asked. Lance smiled, deciding to give Ash some humor in the name of his Dratini.

"Like a Guardian?" Lance asked slowly. Ash's face lit up.

"That's perfect! Your name can be _AuraGuardian!_" Ash said. The newly named AuraGuardian smiled, and coiled around Ash a few more times, circling to avoid strangling him.

_"Nice to meet you, AuraGuardian! My name is Tadewi!" _Tadewi said, bounding up to the Dratini.

_"Hiya AuraGuardian, I'm Tadewi's cousin, Zack! Oh and these are my little brothers and sisters!" _Zack introduced, lifting a wing to his seven younger siblings. AuraKnight shyly said hi.

_"Aw… he's so cute… hey Elite. Tell your master I said thank you, it is very nice of you to leave one of your own here, and to let little Ash here name her. I… I didn't know Pokémon would do that," _Ariel thanked. Venom nodded as well. In the wild, it was an honor to name another Pokémon's hatchling, especially one of a different species.

_"It's quite alright. Though I do wish Lance didn't make another 'Aura', I agree it fits the boy. Especially with the… you know," _AuraKnight said pointedly. Lance nodded, still staring as Tadewi, Zack, AuraGuardian and Ash played, other wild Pokémon slowly coming out in curiosity. Ash was too engrossed in his play to notice what Lance had said.

_"HELLLLLOOOOO DOWN THERE!" _a cheerful voice called, just as TimidFang came out again. He looked up with a squeak and ran back into the bush. Ash and his new friends all looked up, confused, while Lance's dragons all either shook their heads or put their paws over their eyes. Venom, however, narrowed his eyes, as did Ariel.

Suddenly, with a loud '_whoosh!' _a large, purple bat landed, four small wings on all corners of its body, piercing red eyes and a round body in the middle. It was smiling though, making its features even more frightening. From its back rode a graying old lady with a blouse, who landed softly a while later with her bat. Before that, however, a large, bulky man with long scraggly hair wearing no shirt jumped from its feet, hitting the ground with enough force to create a crater. He slowly stood; eyes squinted as he viewed the people and Pokémon alike around. Suddenly, his eyes fell on Ash, and he smiled, nearly laughing with happiness.

"Little one! You are alright!" he called. Ash smiled widely, breaking the silence.

"Uncle Bruno! It's you!" he said happily, rushing forward. Ariel watched him closely, but Venom's eyes were elsewhere. He, along with another Pokémon in the area, disappeared very suddenly, nearly nobody missing their disappearance.

Everyone else was distracted with a tan hulk and a little child laughing and hugging each other.

"I'm happy to see that you two are still close," Agatha said drily, a smile threatening to creep up onto her face. Bruno laughed Mareepishly. Ash simply got off Bruno and charged at Agatha, who sighed.

"Grandma Agatha!" he cried happily. Agatha smiled wryly.

"It's always good to see you, Ash. But you know calling me that makes me feel old," she chastised.

"I don't care!" Ash cried, clamping his arms around Agatha, surprising her. "I thought I might never get to see you again…" he said softly. Agatha sighed, cursing her melting heart, before patting him on the head gently. They stayed like this for a while, before Ash remembered something.

"Oh yeah! Grandma Agatha, Uncle Bruno, do you guys want to meet my new friends?" Ash asked. They nodded, both smiling. Ash grabbed both of their hands, pulling them with him as he went up to his Pokémon friends, who were all nervous. AuraGuardian immediately slithered behind Ash, as did Tadewi and Zack, as they all hid from the two intimidating figures. Ariel, however, surprised them by using her wing to force them out, though AuraGuardian managed to stay hidden.

"Grandma Agatha, Uncle Bruno, this is Tadewi the Pidgey, Zack the Zubat (and his little siblings), and AuraGuardian the Dratini. She's actually Lance's but he let me name her!" Ash said cheerfully, as Tadewi and Zack shook under the view of the two giants in the Pokémon world (one literally)

"How cute," Agatha said. She leaned down as much as she could and pet Zack on his fur softly, yet strongly, making him calm down after a while. Bruno simply stared at Tadewi, before snapping his fingers. He pulled out a small bag from who-knows where and took out a light-blue colored jellybean. He held it in his hand and put the colossal hand near Tadewi, the sweet smell prompting Tadewi to gobble it up.

_"Th-this is really good!" _Tadewi exclaimed.

"Hey what is that, Uncle Bruno?" Ash asked curiously.

"This is a Gummi, Ashling. All Pokémon love them, you just have to know the right color for each Pokémon," Bruno said, a twinkle in his eye.

_"Wow old lady, how do you know how to pet us so well?"_ Zack asked, a little dazed, as Agatha pet him and his siblings.

"Well I do have a Crobat, after all. Acid wasn't always the old Pokémon he is today," Agatha explained.

_"W-wait, you can understand us!?" _Zack exclaimed, turning around. Agatha laughed.

"Half of understanding other beings is from hearing, the other half is all from the eyes. Your facial expressions give everything away."

_"B-but that shouldn't be enough to-!" _Zack continued. Agatha stared at him for while longer, before bursting in laughter.

"Oh, I apologize. I'll explain now. Come out DreamCatcher!" Agatha called.

_"You're no fun," _a creature said, appearing out of thin air. It's completely purple, large ears on its head. Down its spine travel poisonous spikes, and it had red eyes and a large mouth that is currently pouting. It has two arms and two legs, each ending with a few claws. A Gengar.

"Ah!" Ash cries, stepping back, making AuraGuardian move back as well. Zack simply faces the Gengar, who stares back. The two continue to do so for a while, before the Gengar bursts back into a grin and begins laughing comically, as Zack himself grins as well.

_"Yes, yes I can read minds! And that was hilarious! I think I like this one, Agatha!" _Gengar 'spoke'. However, unlike when other Pokémon spoke, Ash and the others could hear him in their minds.

_"Whoa how are you doing that?" _Zack asked aloud. Gengar grinned again.

_"Trade secret_," he said, leaving it at that.

* * *

Several miles away from Pallet and Route 1, on a small, secluded island in the ocean, two figures landed, dust flying up from their gentle descent.

Venom and Acid faced each other coolly, with Venom emitting more anger than he could contain.

_"So… you joined the Elite?" _he asked. Acid simply nodded, no longer smiling. The two continue facing each other, before Acid breaks the silence.

_"Settling down with Ariel for a family? Jeez, older brother, I never thought you'd be calm enough for that. Tell me, do you ever act too strict for her to bare?"_ Acid asks. Venom spits.

_"Quiet you slave. Belonging to a human is of the highest disgrace to a former member of the Talon-Strike squadron. Leader would be ashamed of you," _he replies coldly.

_"And how did he respond to you wanting to retire? All Sunny Day's and smiles? I doubt it. We all chose our own paths, older brother. Don't fault others for your own mistakes."_

_ "And should you really be one to talk? At the very least I am not shackled by a capsule, chosen to fight when my _Master_ bids me do so. You really hit the bottom of the ground this time."_

Acid growls now, shifting into a more aggressive stance.

_"Take that back. _Nobody_ insults master Agatha, and you shouldn't either, seeing as your own _Master_ sees her as his grandmother!"_

_"Ash is no master of mine!"_ Venom spits, before rearing up, wings stretched back. His large forehead began to glow a faint pink, making Acid's eyes widen as he quickly threw up his top wings, creating a barrier.

The Zen Headbutt hit the hastily erected Protect, ringing across the empty clearing. Acid gritted his teeth as his shield slowly, slowly cracked, before Venom simply disappeared.

Finally noticing the trap, Acid hastily drew his wings together, before launching a ball of sludge behind him, directly where Venom appeared, before the sludge went straight through him. The Sludge Bomb attack missing due to the quick Double Team.

Acid warily checked his surroundings as slowly, a ring of Venom was formed, closing in slowly.

_"Damn it Venom I just came to talk!" _Acid protested, trying vainly to make a shield, but not knowing where to block.

_"Then you shouldn't have called Ash my 'master'," _Venom spat. Acid continued to turn, trying to catch Venom, until he just barely avoided an invisible blade that cut through the air. Eyes widening, Acid continued in vain to dodge as the group of images began to form and entire _dome_ around him, slowly enclosing the sunlight. Everywhere, the Air Cutter attack came, and unlike normal ones, where a bit of white signified the blade, this was completely invisible, only Acid's species sense of wind direction saving him.

_"Don't do this Venom!"_ Acid cried out in pain as his front left wing got cut. No reply.

Venom began spinning faster and faster around a wounded Acid, more and more cuts steadily being inflicted. Unbeknownst to himself, Venom began to glow red in the eyes, spinning faster and faster around Acid.

_"Now!"_ Venom thought, this time sending a blade straight for one of the only fatal spots on a Crobat. Their heart, which was directly next to the left most wings. Thus far, he had avoided any fatal injuries, but this was it. He would finally kill his damned brother! He would finally-!

A combined wave of intense heat and destructive wind sent him from his flying position in the crowd of his own images to pinned to the ground. The attack wasn't as piercing as his own, but more of a blunt, strong force; more designed to bludgeon than to stab. The very fact that the attack was a combination move meant that the one Pokémon he didn't want to come into the scene had seen what had happened.

Flying in the sky above as if simply perched on a tree with relaxation, Ariel's normally kind and sweet eyes now had a solid cold to them, as if she could freeze an Ice type. She gently landed on the remains of what she had aimed her combination attack at, and as was her own style when she was a member of the squadron, she declared her attack afterwards.

_"Hot Hurricane Wave,_" she said coldly, wings spread, beak to the ground in a bow, before she collected herself. She stared at the two bats, before sighing.

_"Tried to kill your brother again, did you Venom?" _Ariel asked. Her attitude and way of speaking is completely different from before: gone is the sugary sweet in her voice: now all that remains is cold hard fact.

Neither Venom nor Acid speak, and Ariel grunts.

_"If you want to fight anyone, fight me. Come on, Venom. So what he joined the Elite. It was his own choice. Do not forget that despite our even levels, I still am stronger than you, and was ranked higher. Don't make me use that privilege of mine, Venom, Acid," _Ariel continued. When nobody answered her questions, she sighed.

_"You two flew all the way to the nearest abandoned Squadron grounds just to have a petty quarrel? Perhaps we should contact Leader again, if you two can't conform to civilian life," _Ariel declares. Venom shakes his head, as does Acid.

_"Good. Now let's go back, and act like civilized Pokémon. Any more fighting from the two of you like that and I'll send in your bounties under the 'Dangerous Feral Pokémon' list." _Ariel threatened. She suddenly snapped into her sugary sweet personality, asking, _"And would you like any berry juice, Acid deary?" _

* * *

_"I'm surprised you managed to come by so quickly_," Ariel said curiously. AuraKnight shrugged, Lance standing off on the side, watching all the interactions.

_"Well what you said made it quite clear that you expected the Elite Four to show up and help. We couldn't just let that request slip by now, could we?" _AuraKnight replied.

_"Oh of course. Now, will you explain to me as to who exactly wants to attack Ash? I may have only had him under my wings for not even a day, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried for him. If things really get bad with this person going after him," _Ariel's eyes tightened, "_I'll take them out myself."_

_"The… the man's name is Giovanni. He is the leader of Team Rocket, a criminal organization. We don't know all of his motives yet, but it can be inferred that he wants nothing good with Ash. Even if he means no harm, we must deal with him," _AuraKnight explained. Ariel nodded.

_"I understand. A while ago, there emerged a massive feral Tentacruel near the city of Cerulean. We were tasked to eliminate it, despite the fact that it hadn't done anything destructive. Better to eliminate the threat before it becomes a threat," _Ariel turned her head sharply, _"speaking of which, I'd better go. I'll be back in a bit, I trust you and the other three humans will be willing to take care of the little ones?" _

_ "Yes. Do what you must,"_ AuraKnight acknowledged. Ariel nodded her thanks, before taking off.

"So this man that came to see your mother… was there anything you remembered about him?" Bruno asked suddenly. The older Pokémon and people flinched in some way, but Ash simply tapped his chin.

"Umm… well, he was wearing a lot of black… and there was a weird red 'R' on his hat… I think. Why?" Ash asked curiously. Bruno smiled, not giving away the turmoil he felt.

"It's nothing, Small One. Oh, that's right. Your new caretaker… what was her name again?" Bruno asked.

"It was Ariel, Bruno," Agatha answered.

"Right. She said that she wanted us to bring some of our own Pokémon here… you know, to make the place a small daycare. So… I brought Kick and Punch's child."

"Kick and Punch had a baby?" Ash squealed.

"Yes, yes they did," Bruno said, "His name is Lion. I thought it appropriate for the child of those two."

"Oh cool! Where is he?" Ash asked. Bruno brought out a tiny Pokéball. He pressed the release mechanism, and out sprung a Pokémon called Tyrogue.

It is a humanoid Pokémon with a predominately pale purple body and brown hips and feet that resemble short pants and shoes. It has three blunt protrusions on the top of its head, yellow eyes, and circular sections on each side of its head that resemble protective padding. There are white bands resembling bandages on its torso and wrists. It has thin limbs, and its hands have three fingers each.

_"Hello!"_ the Tyrogue said to Ash. Ash waved back, smiling.

"Hi there! So, you're Kick and Punch's baby, huh?"

_"I sure am! My name is Lion, nice to meet you all!"_

_ "Hi Lion, I'm Tadewi! This is my cousin Zack, and his siblings."_

_ "Hi Lion," _AuraGuardian said softly. Lion turned towards her.

_"Oh hey! Did you ever get a name?"_

_ "Y-yes… Ash here named me AuraGuardian."_

_"Oh really? That's cool! Hey Ash! Wanna fight?" _Lion asked. Ash, who had been pleased with just listening to the Pokémon interact, was snapped out of his stupor by this.

"Wait, me? But I can't fight." he said.

"Lion, I don't think it's really appropriate to challenge Ash," Bruno phrased carefully. Lion shook his head.

_"But Memma and Papa always just wipe the floor with me! I want to fight another hatchling, someone that I have a decent chance of beating! Come on, sir!" _Lion begged, simultaneously using his hands to make strange gestures.

_"Wait, what are you doing?" _Zack asked. Lion turned to him.

_"Oh this? This is a human thing called 'sign language'. It lets me talk with mister here! Too bad he can't understand me normally."_

"Oh that's really cool! But still, Lion, I don't know how to fight," Ash protested. Lion tilted his head.

_"Don't know how to fight? But all Pokémon know how to fight, how could you not?" _he asked.

"Huh?" Ash asked. For a moment, everyone that could understand Lion was quiet, then, realization set in, and everyone began laughing, even Bruno, albeit lightly.

_"What? Why are you all laughing at me?" _Lion asked. Ash coughed and tried to stop laughing.

"Lion, I'm not a Pokémon though. I'm human," Ash said, spreading his hands. The small Tyrogue shook his head.

_"No, you're a Pokémon. There's no way you could understand me otherwise. Come on guys, stop laughing!"_ Lion protested.

_"But he's _not_ a Pokémon, he's human!"_ Tadewi said between laughs.

_"Hey…! I said, fight me!" _Lion said, having had enough. He really did think that Ash was a Pokémon, and that he'd be able to defend himself properly against him. So he charged at Ash, springing into the air with a flip, foot going down. Bruno tried to lunge forward to intercept, but he was too far, and the flying type children were all watching, too slow to counter. Even Agatha couldn't move fast enough, her old bones preventing her. The two Dragonairs and Dragonite were too far to intercept, and they weren't even paying attention. DreamCatcher wasn't aware either. Ash himself only watched as Lion's foot hammered down, straight at his skull. An attack that could easily crack his head in half.

To everyone's surprise, a sudden small yellow energy surrounded Ash, and before he could even think, he reached out and grabbed the offending foot, stopping Lion's progress immediately.

* * *

Not a mile away, a lone Riolu stepped out of the shadow of a tree, darting forward with alarming speed before disappearing once more. He was starting to get lost, but he would allow the Aura to guide him. Speaking of the Aura…

Someone that wasn't of his evolutionary line was using Aura, a spike of it occurring. This sudden spike made him freeze for a moment, before he ran towards it, now knowing where to go.

* * *

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ash apologized to Lion, who he had accidentally flung fifty feet into a tree. The small Pokémon shook its head a few times, shaking the stars out of its eyes, before grinning wide.

_"Hah! I told you all he was a Pokémon!" _he declared. Ash sighed, turning back to the others. To his surprise, they were all looking at him with startled expressions, although Bruno looked more satisfied than anything.

"What is it guys?" Ash asked, confused. At this moment, Ariel, Venom and Acid landed in the clearing once more, Acid looking worse for wear. Ariel was confused, as were the two bats, about what had happened.

_"What's going on, everyone? Why is everyone staring at Ash like that?"_ she asked. Tadewi gulped.

_"Memma… he just stopped Lion in midair and… and threw him from here… to there…" _she said in a sort of awe.

_"THAT WAS AWESOME!" _Zack and his siblings said simultaneously, snapping everyone out of their stupor. Zack covered the fifty feet in less than a second, popping up straight in Ash's face, making him yelp and fall on his back from it. _"You've got to teach us how to fight, Ash! That was so! COOL!" _

"Uh…" Ash said dumbly, still on the ground. The sound of two Pokeballs snapped him out of his stupor, and he looked to see Kick and Punch, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, standing nearby.

_"Lion… what did you do this time?" _the Hitmonchan asked, sighing. All of a sudden, the outgoing Tyrogue shied a bit, trying to avoid his mother's questioning gaze.

_"Nothing Memma… I was just sparing with Ash here. He won though…"_ Lion said dejectedly. Immediately, the two turned to Ash in astonishment.

_"A human beat a Pokémon in a straightforward fight? Bruno, what is going on?"_ the Hitmonlee signed to Bruno, who sighed.

"Quite the interesting development that will have to wait for another day. Until then, Punch, Kick, I would like to introduce you to Venom and Ariel, the ones your Lion will be staying with for a while, and should you desire, you yourselves as well."

_"Interesting. What about challengers?" _the Hitmonchan signed. Bruno nodded.

"Lorelei will take care of them. If any get past, which is unlikely, we should still be able to handle them. So what do you say?"

_"I don't know. Ash, Lion, do you want one of us to stay? We don't have to," _the Hitmonchan said. Ash smiled.

"I would love it if you guys stayed! Sorry for hurting Lion by the way…" Ash apologized, looking down. The two laughed.

_"It's alright, Ash. He challenged you, not the other way around. Alright then, Bruno, we'll stay."_

"Marvelous! In which case, Agatha, do you think you'll bring out your own Pokémon now?" Bruno asked. Agatha nodded.

"I think it's time. I must warn you, Ash dear. He is a bit childish… he might pull a few pranks," she warned. Ash smiled and nodded while he introduced the two fighting type parents to the rest of his friends. Agatha slowly released her Pokéball, and out popped a floating purple head surrounded by gas and vapor. The Gastly looked around curiously, before DreamCatcher caught its attention.

"I introduce to you all; Specter, my Gastly," Agatha said, holding her arm out. The Gastly continued looking around, a little bored, before his eyes fell on Ash. He burst out laughing, to Ash's confusion.

"Hey, what's so funny!?" Ash asked. The Gastly didn't answer, preferring to continue laughing. Lion saw Specter and immediately ducked behind his parents, being afraid of ghosts. The rest of the Pokémon, however, didn't seem to be scared of Specter.

"Agatha. Bruno. We've got to head back now," Lance called, reminding them. The two elite members nodded back, and they each spoke with their Pokémon and Ash, telling them to be good to Mrs. Ariel and to be nice. Ash hugged the two as hard as he could, before the three finally left.

* * *

"Well that was educational, I didn't think they would be so nice to let us leave some of our Pokémon there," Agatha commented from her Crobat. Bruno was hanging onto a flier to Lance's left, while Lance himself rode AuraKnight.

"They were nice when I first met them as well. If a bit intimidating. What did you think, Bruno?" Lance asked. Bruno remained silent for a moment, before speaking.

"I thought they were fine, but what worries me a little is that little Ash's Aura is already starting to grow, and at a rapid pace. The fact that he was able to fend off Lion without a scratch slightly troubles me," he said honestly. Agatha shook her head.

"I know what you mean, but what is there to fear? It shouldn't be too surprising that he has a ridiculous amount of Aura, especially since we already know he's a Speaker and Healer class human. The Aura really is strong with this one, so I guess we might even be able to add 'fighter class' to that description," Agatha said. Lance sighed.

"Actually I think he might be an Empath as well. When I first released the newly named AuraGuardian, she was really shy and scared, as her species normally is. When she went up to Ash though, a small light formed near Ash's hands, when he pet her. I think he calmed her down enough to make her trust him."

"A quadruple power person… are you sure, Lance? Perhaps she just realized he was a Speaker and wanted to go near him?" Agatha asked uncertainly. Lance shook his head.

"Positive. I hadn't even told her to go up to him yet. It was his own broadcasting of his kind heart that made AuraGuardian go up to him, nothing else. I was a bit disappointed with Lorelei though. She immediately challenged the two flying types to a fight when she got there," Lance said sadly.

"Unfortunately, she is still much younger and more naïve than the rest of us. I do, however, hope they don't take that as a slight to them. We don't need them as enemies."

* * *

Ash smiled as he and the rest of the younger Pokémon sat around and played with the local Pokémon. He, Tadewi, Zack, his siblings, Lion, AuraGuardian, and Spooks were getting along well enough. There hadn't been any major arguments yet, and ignoring Lion and his boisterous nature, there weren't any real incidents. Tadewi had returned to chatting with her fellow Pidgey, Zack and his siblings were flying through the shady trees, Lion was practicing some sort of fighting style, AuraGuardian was still with him, and Spooks was pulling pranks on some of the feral Caterpie nearby. TimidFang was talking to Ash again, having recovered his wits after the older Pokémon had left. Unknown to the other Pokémon in the clearing, Bruno's Hitmonchan was watching them all, making sure none of them fought for any reason.

The day ended peacefully, and soon, Bruno's Hitmonchan called the Pokémon + Ash inside to go to bed. Tadewi simply found a place to roost and did so, Zack and his siblings hung upside down, Lion found a bed to sleep in, and Spooks simply disappeared. AuraGuardian stayed wrapped around Ash's arm and didn't let go, so Ash slept in beg with AuraGuardian curled up to him. The older Pokémon, however, had a meeting immediately after putting the tired children to sleep.

_"Now then, I suppose we should have a good, real meeting without the children listening. My name is Ariel, former lieutenant of the Talon-Strike Squadron, and former leader of the Mass Assault squad team of the Talon-Strike Squadron, the 'Harpies'. During our time here, I expect you all to refer to me as Ariel, nothing more." _Ariel began the meeting, making the other Pokémon surprised at what she said.

_"I'll follow up on that. My name is Venom, former lieutenant of the Talon-Strike Squadron as well, though I only became that after Ariel here was said to be KIA on a mission. I became third in command right after. I am former leader of Assassination and Intel team of the Talon-Strike Squadron, 'Night'. You may call me Venom during your time here."_ Venom added, the Pokémon shifting a bit, uncomfortable. _"Go around and introduce yourselves. There are things you may have left out earlier as Ash was there, say it now. We need to know your strengths and weaknesses, so we may adequately guard Ash and the Children."_

_ "My name is AuraSlice, and this is my brother, AuraSentinel. We have linked minds, and although it isn't as powerful as the Bond of Psychic's, it is still abnormally powerful. We request that you treat us as one person when assigning missions, for our efficiency is improved when we are together," _AuraSlice said. Ariel nodded.

_"Noted."_

_ "My name is Kick, and this is my spouse, Punch. We are called what we are as a sort of irony when Bruno is calling us to fight, but we are special members of our species."_

_ "How so?" Ariel asked._

_ "Despite being a Hitmonchan, I can still use many Hitmonlee-based moves. This is generally a pretty large shock for opponents, and it works really well. I can use all of the elemental punches as well, though with more proficiency than my mate," _Kick said, her mate agreeing.

_"My name is DreamCatcher. I have the abilities all Ghosts do, though with much larger proficiency. I have the unique disappearing ability, as does my child. Because of this ability, it will usually be a good idea to send me on solo patrols, I believe," _DreamCatcher informed. Ariel shook her head.

_"Rule number one of patrols: no one goes alone. You won't believe how many times Venom here saved my hide, despite my power. If you go on patrols, I expect you and Venom to go together. Despite my strength, his skill set seems to work better with yours, and considering you have a teammate that is a Crobat, I suspect you have worked with his kind before. _

_ Ignoring that, we will have patrols daily, mainly on the night shift. Otherwise, I expect the children to be watched at all times, though they don't need to know it all the time. As I said, teams are two Pokémon, not one. The night patrols will take place from the time the sun drops to the time the sun rises, no excuses. The patrol will encompass everything from here to the river, in a diameter similar to it that is marked by a large tree with feral Butterfree on the opposite side. The north and south patrol borders will be a large black rock and a collapsed abandoned human home respectively. The day watch of the children will have a different set of Pokémon than the night shift, and the order is as follows, commit it to memory: AuraSlice and AuraSentinel, Kick and Punch, DreamCatcher and Venom. _

_ The pattern, for anyone that can't figure it out right away, will be a patrol Day, the next Night, then the Day after the day after the Night. You will have every third day free, in essence. I will replace those that need a break for a day, but otherwise, I will be traveling around once a week to see if I can find out some more about this Giovanni character. Those are your orders." _

* * *

The special Aura had strangely disappeared completely. It trouble the young Riolu, but what was he to do? Nothing, that's what, his journey had proven worthless. His parents were dead. It was all over for the little fighter, and he knew it. He sat near a river, tears silently pouring down his face.

Then, a sudden spike of Aura, randomly shooting up near him. Was he close? Was it him?

No. That signature wasn't the one he was looking for. Yet at the same time, it seemed there was another one nearby. The Aura being released showed how sad and frightened the person releasing it was. Without hesitation, the Riolu got back on his feet, before running towards the signature. They weren't far away, he may as well see who it was.

To his surprise, he found a little girl wearing a beanie, her feet in the same river that he had been sitting next to. The girl didn't seem too surprised when he came and sat down next to her, but instead continued to hug her knees.

"I miss them…" she cried. She was talking about her parents, who she had no idea as to where they were. Her long, blue hair was quite crazy-looking, seeing as she had been too distraught to brush it. At least she still had her brush though.

By now, she had noticed the Riolu, but still didn't do anything.

"Do you think you could help me find them? Probably not, huh… you feel sad also. Why is that?" the girl said suddenly, startling the Riolu.

So she was an Empath. A Human with the ability to sense emotions? Interesting. If only she was a healer… she could fix up the numerous scars he had from walking so far.

"Your feet are scratched up," the girl said softly. The Riolu turned towards her, before nodding. Slowly, the girl put her hands above the air where the Riolu's feet were. A green Aura surrounded them, before the cuts closed up, his stamina returning to him. The Riolu thanked her by bowing to her, before sitting back down, sighing.

"I guess you're looking for someone also, huh? I wish you luck," the young girl said, as the two both looked up to the full moon, wondering what to do.

* * *

**Alright then, I hope you all liked this chapter! To those that were guessing who the girl was, I'll tell you: it's Dawn. Yep, PearlShipping defeated all the other ships for me, though this may turn into a harem if I'm not careful…**

** So you get to meet the Pokémon of the Elite Four! Or some of them, at least. I hope the battle was good, I know there aren't many epic fighting scenes so far. **

** To those that have realized, this story of mine will be much closer to that of the manga universe than that of the anime universe. The anime one, I believe, has too many inconsistencies, and despite how I hold it close to my heart, I enjoy the manga a lot more.**

** I really hope you all liked my implementing of the idea of human powers and that of feral Pokémon, both were put in for one reason or another. The idea of human powers was put in mainly because of their use in the manga, and because I'm trying to go with a 'connected-to-Pokémon' theme with my story, I decided it would make more sense. The idea of feral Pokémon was put in to correct one of the many Pokémon inconstancies. The fact of what everyone eats remains a bit of a mystery, and I simply can't use the game mechanics for my story. Only Pidgey and Rattata in route 1? Not going to work, especially with how big I intend my Pokémon universe to be. I aspire to have the Kanto region be at least the size of the state of Texas, and considering it is ****268,820 sq miles (696,241 km²) ****that means that every route of Kanto is, seeing as there are around 28 routes in the Kanto region, 10 known cities, and Texas has 96.97 people living in every square mile, I can do an estimate in size for the Kanto region, popping out to the Kanto region being around 4 square miles. However, this is only because this is the number of people in each city considering game values, which I don't believe is accurate enough for size. So I'm going to say that the size of Kanto is the exact same as Texas, but the actual population of the Kanto region is much larger than 391. Even then, it isn't even close to the millions. It's more around 900,000, though I'll leave that as an estimate for the population I want right now. The majority of the Kanto region will be inhabited by Pokémon, which is why they are such a big threat to humans. The size of the largest city in the Kanto region, the city of Celadon City, for example, will be 627 square miles, or the size of Houston. This whole thing confuses even me, so I'll elaborate more on this over time. Just know that a route is much bigger than they are in the games, and that the majority of the Kanto region is wilderness.**

**Damn that's a lot of mumbo jumbo. Alright then, that's it. **

**MG TLE**

**DBJ JY**


End file.
